I think my favorite has to be The Return of the King. But it's SUPER hard to choose as all of them are EPIC.

2. Do you have a favorite subplot?

I think Arwen and Aragorn's (even though it's such a tiny subplot in the book) romance or Gimili and Legolas's bromance. Or maybe just Aragorn's story in general cause I <3 Aragorn ;P

3. What's your favorite theme in Tolkien's books? (Can be in one specific story, or overall.)

Hope. I love how even when things look so bleak and it looks like Sauron and evil will win after all, there is still hope. Because, let's face it, why would we read/write something that doesn't give hope?

4. Do you have a favorite weapon from Middle-earth?

*coughs*

I'm not that well versed in the weapons aspect of Middle-earth so I guess Sting???

5. Would you like to be a hobbit?

I think so. I wouldn't mind living in a cozy Hobbit-Hole and eating good food.

None of them. I would flatter myself and say Arwen but no, I do not look like any of the characters from The Lord of the Rings.

9. Are there any books about Middle-earth or Professor Tolkien (but not written by him) you recommend?

*cough*

So I haven't read any other works by Tolkien besides The Lord of The Rings or the Hobbit, but I did read this movie guide to The Return of the King (can't remember the name or author) so I guess that one????

10. List up to ten of your favorite lines/quotations from the Middle-earth books and/or movies.

Well there are my answers for this year! Are you participating in the blog part? What are some of your favorite aspects of The Lord of the Rings?

Well, Lina here. Since I've been SHOVED IN A CORNER SO LONG, I decided to rebel and write a post all by myself. Naturally, that crazy woman wouldn't let me, but I'm doing it anyway. And it has been put off for quite some time *glares* BUT IT IS FINALLY HERESince I consider myself the "evil" (that child does not have an evil atom in her body tho, so not really evil) side of that person, I'm not doing one of her crazy, unorganized posts, but a post on my top 11 villains.*cackles*They will help me rule the world!!!

Kylo Ren

[Star Wars]

Darth Vader

[Star Wars]

Mr. Willoughby

[Sense & Sensibility]

Sir Louis

[Doctor Thorne]

Thomas Barrow

[Downton Abbey]

Carter Doone

[Lorna Doone]

The White Witch

[The Chronicles of Narnia]

Selia

[The Goose Girl]

(there was none of Selia so I found this)

Darth Sidious

[Star Wars]

Queen Levana

[The Lunar Chronicles]

(again, no photo, but I found this)

Sauron

[Lord of the Rings]

Yep, these guys will help me take over the wooooooooooorld

*an unsuspecting Ceci comes in**sees what's written above*I swearI had nothing to do with that. . But I would like to point out to Lina that some of these "villains" are (or will be) redeemed

First novel written: I think it was about this Italian girl (it was historical fiction) who took ballet and who's parents got scarlet fever so she was sent to her mom's siblings house (it was sort of an Anne of Green Gables ripoff) and yeah, drama. I never got past the 10th page xD

First novel completed: A Tale of Two Friend's: Ariella's Perspective. Which was locked up in a dungeon until I gave the plot life-saving surgery and changed A LOT of stuff.

Award for writing: Um......well I did will an M4M writing contest. You can find the story here. It actually inspired me to link several story ideas together and basically birthed the Kingdoms of Ilia

First Publication: See above xD But I do post my work on the various forums I'm on

Conference: Do writing workshops at the library count??? Because that's it :P

Query/Pitch: I'm actually going to finish a decent story before I even think of that xD

Favorite:

Novel (that you wrote): ACH THIS IS REALLY HARD. . . I'm going to have to go with Colm though because it's turning out a lot better than I thought it was going too (gotta resolve that cliffhanger for my poor Alpha tho xD)

Genre: Historical fiction. I ADORE THIS GENRE BECAUSE I WAS BORN IN THE WRONG CENTURY (except I need AC and Spotify so I guess I was born in the right one :P)

Writing Music: IT DEPENDS REALLY. Mostly I'm listening to my playlist with my favorite songs but sometimes I listen to a playlist I made for the book. So for like Colm, I listen to like Irish music but for this Victorian novella I'm working on I listen to my Period Drama playlist

Time to Write: Whenever I can xD

Writing Snack/Drink: Um......I normally don't eat while I write but I like drinking La Croix when I write

Movie: UGH. THIS. IS. SO. HARD. But I'm going to say.......

.....
......
.................
.......................................
DID IT HAVE TO BE MOVIE
UGASSIDBHFD VAADSUIHJFKDNFBCDVGKXZ
Either LotR or Star Wars

Writing Memory: This is actually pretty funny. So I had just finished writing my first novel (it was like 10 o'clock at night) and so my sister (who we'll just call N) is reading and I'm like, "N! N! GUESS WHAT?" And she's like, "What?" (in a super bored voice). Then I said, "I JUST FINISHED MY FIRST BOOK!!!" And she replies, "Oh cool." She wasn't even paying attention and I was so mad but it's my favorite writing memory xD

Childhood Book: Probably Black Beauty. I used to looooove that book and movie

Currently:

Reading: Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. I NEED TO READ NORTH & SOUTH GUYS MY LIBRARY DON'T HAVE IT AND I'M SOOOO MAD

Writing: I've taken a smol break from Colm but I'm going to work more on it. I'm also working on a novella that's going pretty well and prepping for Nano

Listening to: My favorites playlist. More specifically, Castle by Halsey (but I think I'm going to skip to I Like Me Better by Lauv which I'm IN LOVE WITH RN)(yep, just switched xDD)

Watching: Well my baby sister is watching The Secret Life of Pets on the floor next to me (AND GUYS IT'S THE CUTEST THING EVER. SHE HAS THIS BABY VOICE AND SHE'S SEEN THE MOVIE SO MANY TIMES THAT SHE SAYS THE MOVIES LINES WITH THE MOVIE AND I'M OVER HERE DEAD WITH HER ADORABLENESS). But I'm watching The Crown in my spare time (ha, what's that). Just finished watching Death Comes to Pemberley and <3333333

Learning: Finding Percentages. The downfall of the Visigoths. A general intro to Holy Scripture. Measuring in chemistry. The Hortatory Subjunctive. That Plato and Aristotle overthink things. Irish. Bruch. Bach. Bartok. Hahahahahah *dies*

Future:

Want to be published: YES IS THAT A QUESTION?? I wouldn't mind being either indie or traditional

Wildest Goal: To just roam around Europe writing in aesthetically pleasing cafes

“I do so love the wind, don’t you?” Ava asked, tilting her head and squinting her eyes to look at Jameson, who was stretched out on the blanket beside her.“There is something strangely comforting about it,” he agreed, taking a bite out of an apple.“When I was younger, and we used to live in Derbyshire, I used to pretend that the wind was my mother’s spirit. Whenever I was especially lonely or upset, I would go outside and let the wind embrace me.”Jameson looked up at her. “Was your childhood terribly lonely?”“N - No. I have my papa, and I love him dearly. But there were times when he would go to London for business and he would be gone for weeks. Those were the worst times. It was I who finally convinced him to move to London with me, even though he wanted to stay in Derbyshire because of my, because of my health.”He noticed the way that the light in Ava’s eyes dimmed a little as she spoke of her health. He hated seeing that look of numb pain on her face and would give his own life if he could take all her pain.Sensing that a change of topic was the best route of action, Jameson said, “Are you excited to see your father again?”Ava’s face lit up again. “Oh! Yes! I missed dear Papa so much! That is,” she laughed merrily, “not to say that I am unhappy here. But I do miss my father, and letters aren’t quite the same as talking to a person in the flesh.”“I’ll say,” Jameson chuckled.

Colm

“Oi, Colm!” Shane plopped down in front of him. “We’re going to a dance, do ya want to come?”
“Um,” Colm began.
“No!” Mrs. Russo barged out of the door, hand’s on her hips giving Shane the death look.
“Surely that’s Colm’s decision,” Shane glared right back. Colm had discovered that Mrs. Russo and Shane appeared to hate each other on the surface, but that they really loved each.
“But he’s only sixteen, and I’m-”
“-His fill-in mother, you’ve told us a million times.”
“Yes, I am his fill-in mother. He’s told me that his mother and I would be the best of friends if we knew each other, and I’m sure she would agree with me that it wouldn’t be appropriate for a sixteen-year-old boy to go the type of dances you young men frequent.”
“It’s still Colm’s decision,” Shane grumbled.
“I think I’ll stay with Mrs. Russo,” Colm said, shrinking back into his seat.
Mrs. Russo gave him an approving glance as the rest of the Rover Boys left the building.
Colm also got up but sat down when Mrs. Russo called out to him.
“Yes, Mrs. Russo?” he asked.
“I just wanted to give you a word of motherly advice,” she smiled at him kindly, “Be careful when it comes to money and other worldly things. I’m sure your mother would thank me for that.”
“She would,” Colm kissed her cheek gratefully.”
“Mamma mia,” she blushed, “You could make my grandmother blush.”

The Crown of Light

“It looks like all this fresh air is doing you good,” Rilan observed the next day. Awyeria flashed him a grin.“It is!” she called, running ahead.“Don’t run!” he reminded her, “You still need to be careful.”“Oh, yes, sorry. It’s just so hard to not run in these beautiful woods! When I read about the Forest, all the books made it seem like this extremely ugly, dark, and dangerous place!”“It’s still dangerous,” Rilan said, “But beautiful.”“Do you know why?”“I doubt anyone does. But, it is said that the woodmen used to live in these woods, before they left.”“I think they did,” Awyeria laughed, “That must be why it’s so beautiful.”Rilan grinned again. He couldn’t fathom how Awyeria could carry so much, and yet, be such a happy person. It did seem like every now and then the weight would get very heavy, and she would crack a little. But she always recovered.Rilan frowned at his analogy. He didn’t like to think of Awyeria cracking. And yet, it seemed to fit perfectly. He shuddered to think of what would happen if Awyeria cracked in half. Hopefully, her mission would be over before it happened.

The Moon

“Hurry up, J! We’re going to be late!” Gerald yelled from downstairs.“Almost!” Joanna paused to give her eyeliner the finishing touch, “Done!”Uncapping her mascara, she ran the brush over her top eyelashes. And then did the same for the bottom ones. Studying her reflection in the mirror, Joanna deemed herself ready to go.“Let’s go,” she sang out as she sat in the passenger seat of her brother’s car. Gerald rolled his eyes and started the engine.“What do you think about Emilie?” Joanna asked as they drove down the street.“She’s pretty-”“Is that all you guys think about?”“No!” Gerald gave her a sharp look, “You didn’t let me finish! She’s pretty and she looks really talented. She’s a great addition to the team.”“Well, with Stanley and Janice Stanton as her parents, of course she’s going to be an amazing addition!” she gasped, “Do you think she’ll tell us of some of her parent’s missions?!”
“You can ask her.”
Joanna squealed. “I will! I don’t have her in any of my classes but I’ll ask her at lunch or at band practice.”
“She’s part of The Outcasts?”“Yeah. Today is our first practice with her.”
As they pulled into the school parking lot, Joanna spotted Emilie’s car already there. A few cars down, Jack leaned against his car and laughed alongside her.
“Is it me,” Gerald said slyly, shutting the car door, “Or is Jack totally into her?”
Joanna studied the pair. “Oh yeah,” she confirmed, “He’s into her.”
“Finally!
“What?” she whipped her head to look at her brother.
“Jack hasn’t liked a girl in forever. I can finally tease him.”
“You are such a,” Joanna searched for the right adjective to describe her brother.
“A what?” Gerald prompted.
“A boy!”
“No way!” he feigned mock horror, “I would have never guessed!”
“But I have bad news.”
“What?! We ran out of ice cream!”
Joanna punched him playfully. “I think Christopher likes her too.”
Gerald cackled evilly. Giving him a concerned look, she said, “What is it? Something bad is going on if you use your Darth Sidious laugh.”
“This is going to be so much fun to watch.”
The sibling duo had reached Jack and Emilie at that point, so Joanna wasn’t able to ask him what he meant.“Hey guys!” Gerald said, giving Jack a fist-bump, “What’s up?”
“Eh,” Jack shrugged, Joanna hugged Emilie, “Nothing much. Em and I were just talking about how hilarious Mr. Ortega is.”
“Oh my gosh,” Joanna laughed, “I have him in my third period, he cracks the best jokes!”
“Did he tell you guys the toe one?” Emilie asked.
“No! Tell!”
“Okay,” Emilie laughed and cleared her throat, “So it went like this: What did one cell say to his sister cell when she stepped on his toe? Ouch, Mitosis!”
There was a brief pause before everyone burst out into laughter.
“Oh, gosh,” Gerald wiped away a tear in the corner of his eye, “That’s one of the jokes that’s so bad it’s good.”
“Mr. Ortega is the best,” Joanna laughed. Then something Jack had said a few minutes ago snagged her attention.
“Wait,” she said, “Jack, what did you call Emilie?”
“Um,” he looked extremely confused, “I called her Em. Why?”
“You nicknamed her?”
“Yes.”
She pressed her hands to her face and gave a soundless scream. Both Jack and Emilie turned red.
“J,” Gerald said in mock-sternness, “leave them alone.”
“But it’s begging me to tease them!”
“I’m going to class,” Emilie began to inch away once the first bell rang. Joanna hooked her arm around Emilie's.“We’re going to have a girl-chat,” Joanna announced. Emilie shot the boys a look that clearly said, ‘I’m being kidnapped. HELP!!!’ as Joanna dragged her away.“I am allowed to be slightly panicked?” she asked.“Yes,” Joanna replied immediately.“So what did you want to ‘girl-chat’ about?”“Do you like Jack?”“Um, of course I do.”Joanna gave her a hard stare and Emilie spluttered.“Oh!” she exclaimed, “You mean like him, like him?”“Duh! Do you?”“No!”“Do you like Christopher?”The tops of Emily's ears went red.“Maybe,” was all she said. Joanna squealed.“I am so happy! Christopher needs a good girlfriend. His last one was awful.”“Hold your horses!” Emilie stopped walking and held her hands up in protest, “No one said anything about dating he-who-shall-not-be-named. I just said that I might, - hear that? MIGHT - like him.”“Yeah, yeah,” Joanna waved her hand, “It always starts like that. You’ll see.”

Well, that's enough of my secrets revealed xD

What did you think of this long post? Did you enjoy the snippets? Which were your favorites? And which one would you be most interested in hearing more about?

I'm just going to warn you all know, I am going to be changing my blog name, look, url, and some other things very soon! The title will be changed to "Ceci Creates" because I think it fits me and the direction that this blog is going! So just a heads up ;)

In 1911, Carrie Strahorn wrote a memoir entitled Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage, which shared some of the most exciting events of 25 years of traveling and shaping the American West with her husband, Robert Strahorn, a railroad promoter, investor, and writer. That is all fact. Everything She Didn't Say imagines Carrie nearly ten years later as she decides to write down what was really on her mind during those adventurous nomadic years.Certain that her husband will not read it, and in fact that it will only be found after her death, Carrie is finally willing to explore the lessons she learned along the way, including the danger a woman faces of losing herself within a relationship with a strong-willed man and the courage it takes to accept her own God-given worth apart from him. Carrie discovers that wealth doesn't insulate a soul from pain and disappointment, family is essential, pioneering is a challenge, and western landscapes are both demanding and nourishing. Most of all, she discovers that home can be found, even in a rootless life.With a deft hand, New York Times bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick draws out the emotions of living--the laughter and pain, the love and loss--to give readers a window not only into the past, but into their own conflicted hearts. Based on a true story.

Where do I start? This book is SO GOOD! I had really low expectations for it but it blew me away! I really, really, really loved the authenticity that this book has (I mean, it is based on a memoir but this book felt super authentic). I felt as if Carrie "Dell" was sitting next to me and talking to me. One of the things that I really appreciated was the fact the Carrie struggled with her body image, which I haven't read much of. This is something that I have an on-and-off battle with so this was so great to read. All the descriptions made me feel like I had stepped inside that time period and was traveling all over the place with "Dell" and "Pard". I could also feel Carrie's pain and teared up a few times. I also learned a lot about Manifest Destiny and even though Robert and Carrie Strahorn are real and did so much, I don't think I've ever heard of them.

I love books that make me laugh, and (you guessed it), this book made me laugh. I was reading and started cracking up and my sisters gave me the "yep she's insane" look. The humor felt really real and it wasn't forced. I'm laughing now just thinking about it.

The adventures were so great! Again, they all felt very real and a lot of them were hilarious. But whenever something went wrong my heart started pounding and you just want everything to turn out alright.

Okay, so the book starts out with Carrie and Robert getting married and yes, I did want to smack Robert a few times, but his adoration for Carrie was soooo adorable. And Carrie's love for her husband was so real (seeing a pattern here?:P) and inspiring.

I actually can't think of anything that I disliked. I really liked this book xD

Like I said, the book starts with Carrie and Robert getting married so there are some references to that - and they can't have children - but it's clean besides those few references.

Take a wild guess....

5 stars

So I love Historical Fiction but this one just blew me away! I now want to read Carrie Strahorn's real memoir 15 Thousand Miles By Stage, just to compare the two.

Have you read Everything She Didn't Say or 15 Thousand Miles By Stage? Did you like them? Do you want to read them?

I would like to thank Revell Reads for giving me a free copy of Everything She Didn't Say in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hello everyone! Yes, it's Monday, the dreaded day of doom and destruction

Anyways, I think by this time everyone has already started school. This year I'm a junior, so I'd just thought I'd share some wisdom that I've earned over the years

[what wisdom??]

*throws Lina out*

Just a note before we begin, most of these tips are geared towards homeschoolers (and MoDGers more specifically), but as for the rest of you, feel free to pick and choose which ones work for you!

1. Don't snooze your alarm

This is sooo important! It may not seem like it, but it is! I read in "Seven Habits for Highly Effective Teens" (which I highly recommend) that every day is a series of battles that you win or lose, and the outcome of these battles is how your day goes. The first battle of your day is when your alarm goes off. If you hit that snooze button, then bed wins over mind, and the rest of your day will be sluggish. But if you jump right out, then mind wins out of bed, and you'll be more productive. I'm not kidding! Whenever I don't hit my snooze button I feel that I'm more productive!

2. Start your day off with prayer

This has also helped me be more productive. If you start your day off with God, then you will also see an increase in productivity. What I do it say a morning offering, and if I have my prayer book (I can't remember the name at this moment....but it goes like Carmelite Prayers by St. Therese of the Little Flower or something like that...) I say the morning prayers. If I don't, then I make up a small one. Then I read 1 chapter of the Bible. I have a small notebook that I keep for that and I have three questions I ask myself for each chapter: Where, What, Why. Where is for where in the Bible is this (so, for example, Genesis Chapter 8), What is for what verse stood out to me, and Why is why that verse stood out to me. I do all of this even before I turn on my computer and it really, really helps!

3. Close all your tabs

Since all of my school is online, I usually have a lot of tabs open. The most distracting one is my email because Hangouts will normally distract me. Word of advice, CLOSE ALL YOUR TABS. I print out my syllabus so I don't have to have that tab open. So please, close your tabs.

4. Schedule everything

This year I decided to schedule everything. And I mean everything. Here's an example of my Monday schedule:

I haven't been following it very faithfully as of yet because the first two weeks are weird with classes and Labor Day, but I have been getting better, and I seem to be getting more things done!

5. Do things in chunks

I've found (and this goes with #4) that if I schedule things in chunks, I'm more likely to get it done. Instead of just having no schedule whatsoever and just mindlessly going through schoolwork.

6. Allow for music practice times

This also goes with #4 and 5 and is for you musicians. I know its SUPER hard to get all of your practicing in. Believe me. That's why I do some schoolwork, then some violin, more school, more violin. That's the only way you're going to be able to fit in all the practicing you have to do.

7. Take small breaks

If need be, just take a break. Maybe you can't get that one Algebra problem and you're still thinking about that History paper, Latin exercise, Religion question and it's all running together. JUST TAKE A BREAK and clear your mind.

8. Go to bed no later than 10:30

I know, I know it's really tempting to stay up till midnight finishing that Algebra II homework, but you need rest! Go to bed no later than 10:30 and your body AND mind will thank you.

9. Allow yourself some downtime

Downtime is important. Maybe on the weekends just read that book on your TBR list. Write some, take a walk. This was all mentioned in "7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens", allowing your body to rest is just as important as getting all your schoolwork done, or else you'll burn out and your school won't come out the way you want it to.

10. Don't beat yourself up

If you got a B instead of an A, don't beat yourself up. It does no good and it isn't good for you mental health. Just take a deep breath, promise yourself that you'll do better, and move on. That's all you can do.

11. Don't procrastinate

This is literally the worst thing you can do. You keep putting things off until you're behind 10 lessons in math, 15 Religion papers, and you're running against the clock trying to turn things in on time.

12. Try to turn things in on time

This goes hand-in-hand with the last one. At the end of last year, I was sooo behind. I was writing 2 Religion papers a day, 2 Latin quizzes, believe me, you do yourself a HUGE favor by turning things in on time

13. Have "that one friend"

Have that "one friend" that you can gripe to whenever you want. I have this one friend (and we're actually in 2 of the same classes) and you know, it's awesome to just be able to chat her and rant about, well, anything!

14. Listen to music

Maybe this is just me, but I need to have something playing in my ears to concentrate. If this is you also, here are some things to keep in mind. When doing schoolwork the involves reading (History, Religion, Intro to Philosophy, Chemistry) listen to soundtracks. If you listen to music with words, you can find yourself skim reading instead of really reading the text. For subjects that are more "mechanical" (for lack of a better word)(Math, Latin) then it doesn't matter what music you listen to. Just never listen to an audiobook while doing schoolwork :P

Are any of these tips helpful? Which one do you most agree with? Any back to school tips of your own?